It started off as a quiet Tuesday evening. Within four minutes, Jackson spontaneously came together for its largest celebration -- a party that lasted all night long.

At 6:04 p.m. Aug. 14, 1945, the teletype machine at the Jackson Citizen Patriot punched out the news: Japan surrenders! At the same time, the message hit the airwaves.

By 6:10, cars were blasting their horns at W. Michigan Avenue and Jackson Street. The air-raid sirens atop Fire Station No. 1 on Cortland Street were set off next.

Most of the sidewalks had emptied earlier at the end of the work day. But downtown Jackson was a magnet for thousands of people who rejoiced the end of World War II. The celebration lasted until dawn.

Citizen Patriot file photoCars and people jam downtown Jackson to celebrate the Japanese surrender Aug. 14, 1945. The view looks east from the intersection of W. Michigan Avenue and Jackson Street.

The first shower of paper cascaded down from an office near the Carter Building. Streams of toilet paper followed from the top floors of the Reynolds, City Bank and National Bank of Jackson buildings. A happy pandemonium broke out and traffic began to jam the streets.

The festivities were at their peak around 9:15. Vehicles were stop-and-go, with riders straddling fenders, hoods and bumpers. Party horns were distributed and tooted, but they were drowned out by the clanging of farm-yard dinner bells.

Things started to wane around 10 p.m. By midnight, pockets of stragglers still moved up and down the avenue.

The tail end came around 4 a.m. Daybreak revealed a mountain of debris. All the main streets were littered with newspapers, magazines, confetti, toilet paper, tin cans, broken lightbulbs and firecracker shreds. A few cars were left behind, trapped by the earlier crowds.

City police reported 13 people were injured in eight car accidents. Fifteen were picked up for drunkenness. A Central Bar window on Liberty Street was pierced by two bullet holes.

Firefighters reported seven false alarms, with the first being reported after peace was declared. The last one came at 2:33 a.m.

President Harry Truman announced an immediate two-day peace holiday. Food stores closed for the first day. The post office, factories, bars and gas stations shut down for both days. Banks stayed open with just skeletal staffs.